


My Photo Album

by KATastrofic222



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-02-16 18:29:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13059672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KATastrofic222/pseuds/KATastrofic222
Summary: "This is where we store our memories, so we won’t forget.”Despite being a robot with impeccable memory, keeping a photo album of his own was one of Kiibo's many dreams.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I caved. That's all you need to know. This was originally meant to be a really long one-shot, but about 1k words in I felt like I should divide it into short chapters instead. Was this a good idea? I don't know. Probably not xD Why is the work titled this way? I don't know. My fic titles are just last minute ideas. 
> 
> ...A zombie apocalypse fic on December. What is wrong with me...

_“Professor, what are these for?” Kiibo lifted three colorfully designed books. Its lack of a title and author on it confused the child-minded robot._

_“Hm? Let me see,” Professor Iidabashi moved to grab one book and began flipping through its pages. Kiibo tilted his head when the professor started chuckling._

_“Professor? Is there something funny in there? What’s the book about?” Kiibo asked, his urge to learn grew stronger and stronger with his curiosity._

_“Oh this. This is what you call a photo album,” Professor Iidabashi turned the book around to show its contents. Instead of words, the book contained little compartments on each page which carried images. The image that caught the young robot’s eye was the one with the Professor slipping on a puddle of coffee, his face contorted in horror. “This is where we store our memories, so we won’t forget.”_

_Taking note of the sparkle of wonder in his son’s eyes, Professor Iidabashi handed the album back to him._

_“Storing memories using pictures!” Kiibo said in awe. “It’s very different from how I store memories...”_

_Professor Iidabashi ruffled his hair fondly, “Hey, don’t worry about it. You can store your memories like this too if you want to. Oh! How about we take one now? This album still has plenty of free spaces.”_

_Kiibo’s eyes lit up at the idea, “W-we can?”_

_“Of course! Hold on just a moment, Kiibo. I think the camera is somewhere nearby---got it!” Professor Iidabashi had set up the camera on the tripod with ease before moving away to sit on a simple baby blue loveseat. He beckoned his son to come closer by patting the available space beside him. The Professor had wrapped an arm around Kiibo’s shoulders as soon as the latter had settled beside him._

_“Now, I want you to smile at the camera. As soon as I press this button--” he lifted his right hand to show the button. “--the camera will take our photo. The flash is on, so try not to blink, okay?”_

_“Got it!” Kiibo smiled._

_“Eyes at the camera and smile, Kiibo!”_

_Kiibo obediently looked straight at the camera, tensing as the professor started counting down._

_“Smile!”_

_Upon seeing that Kiibo had blinked during that second, caught off guard by the sudden flash, the robot had eagerly asked the Professor to take more photos together until he got it right. The Professor just laughed and happily went along with his son’s request._

 

\------------------------------------------------

 

Kiibo had blinked himself awake. Upon seeing that he was surrounded by rubble and with absolutely no one in sight, horrible memories had played through his mind all at once. Tears streamed down his cheeks upon realizing that he was the lone survivor of his class. All of his friends are dead. He had only survived because he wasn’t human, and that was the kind of bitter truth he didn’t want to accept.


	2. I Don't Want To Lose Myself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _End me before I do._

“Kiiboy, I want you to blow the whole city up,” Ouma’s grip on the robot's hand tightened. “....and me and everyone else with it. I know you can do it, you have your lab after all.”

“Huh?!” Kiibo looked at the other boy as though he had just told him to blow the entire city up--oh wait, he _did._ “Where is this coming from?! Why would you want me to do something like _that?_ You'll all die that way!”

“You really are a dumb robot,” Ouma stared at him blankly. “That’s exactly the point! We're all going to die eventually. If you blew up everything now, all of this would be over. No one...no one deserved this. Not me. Not anyone.”

“That's true...but I still don't think that's a good idea,” Kiibo looked down, pursing his lips. It had been months since that dreadful incident happened, but the images were still fresh in his mind.

No one expected to be victims of bioterrorism when they left their houses that fateful day after all.

Kiibo had already been at school by the time when a seemingly innocent blimp suddenly released a dense and dark cloud. Everyone thought that the blimp had caught fire, but mysteriously enough, the blimp flew away scot-free with everyone none the wiser. The true result had manifested itself only a week after, when everyone living in the city had slowly turned into zombies right before their very eyes. The entire city had been cordoned off and was placed in quarantine. Not a single one of them were allowed to leave the city, and though it didn’t seem like it affected those living near the affected area since they weren’t directly exposed to the gas, they were evacuated in the off chance that it did. And if you closed your eyes and strain your ears hard enough, you could faintly hear the sound of the outsiders fending off the zombies that got too close to leaving the borders of the quarantined city.

The only reason they lasted as long as they did right now was due to the air purifier the academy had. But it was no use, all of the students had already been contaminated. The pure air only slowed down the infection. Even though the authorities had already apprehended the terrorists, the damage had already been done. They had already lost Gonta, his passion for insects was strong enough to make him leave the safety of the academy, further exposing himself to the toxic environment and subsequently hastening the infection. Maki had put him down before he could even attempt to attack anyone.

“Why are you here anyway, Kiiboy? You’re just a robot, it’s not like you could turn into a zombie even if you wanted to,” Ouma’s voice snapped the albino out of his reverie.

“Even if I can’t turn into a zombie, it doesn’t change the fact that I too had been exposed to the toxic gas. I can’t risk the possibility of infecting those outside as well,” Kiibo replied as-a-matter-of-factly.

“Hmmmph, pretty smart coming from you,” the dark haired teen said as he rested his head on the robot’s shoulder. “Blowing this entire city up would be a lot smarter though.”

“You’re still on about that?” Kiibo huffed. “Fine. If you really want a definite answer, then the answer is no.”

“...You’re awfully cruel, Kiibo,” Ouma buried his face into the robot’s side. “...is this your idea of revenge? Did you hate me that much for teasing you all those years?”

Kiibo closed his eyes as he wrapped an arm around his lover, holding him close. “Quite the opposite, really. I...do not want to lose you so soon.”

“I don’t want to lose myself either...” Ouma whispered under his breath, relaxing when he felt the robot press a soft kiss the on crown of his head as he sobbed. This is how they usually spent their time whenever Ouma had nightmares or had trouble sleeping. He didn’t want to let the robot out of his sight during these times, and Kiibo knew why. He just didn’t voice it out.

“You know, when people feared the possibility of a zombie outbreak happening, I didn’t think it would be this slow and boring. The zombie apocalypse portrayed in movies and video games were far more exciting than whatever this crap is,” Ouma spoke up later as soon as he regained his composure. “This one just sucks. It’s so boring that it brings me to tears each time I think about it. I’d prefer battling zombies to the death and scavenging for food supply over this crap.”

“You could still do that, but you'll turn into a zombie right after,” Kiibo tensed when the shorter male glared at him. "W-what? What I said was true and you know it!"

Ouma let out a sigh and folded his arms behind his head, “Well, if I do become a zombie, will you finally blow the city up like I want you to?”

“...Who knows?” Kiibo stood up and offered the Supreme Leader his hand. “Anyway, I think it’s about time you go to sleep.”

Ouma puffed his cheeks and looked away, “What if I don’t _want_ to go to sleep?”

“Then I’ll stay up with you. I think being in your room is far more comfortable than sitting in the hallway,” the albino smiled when the other teen had finally accepted his hand.

“Fine. Only because you’re staying over. Such is the life of a good host,” Ouma let out an overly exaggerated sigh before smiling at his lover, which the latter returned.

Despite everything he said, Ouma fell asleep as soon as his head landed on the pillow. Kiibo didn't mind at all as he held his hand the whole night, praying that the other won’t be plagued with any more nightmares for the night. Reality was enough of a nightmare for everyone as it is.


	3. We Can't Run From The Inevitable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Our only choice is to accept that it's happening._

“It’s unusual seeing you all by your lonesome,” Ouma turned his attention away from the windows to look at Rantarou. “Where’s Kiibo?”

“Oh, just went for his maintenance with our resident cum dumpster,” Ouma huffed as he returned his attention to the scenery beyond the window. “I pretty much have nothing to do right now and it sucks.”

“Makes sense,” Rantarou settled beside the shorter teen and peered out the window. “What’re ya lookin’ at?”

“Nothing much, actually,” Ouma mumbled. “Just thinking how bored the zombies must be. There are no brains for them to eat in this city, after all. And eating brains is like the only exciting thing they can do as zombies. Just feels sad watching them.”

“Sympathizing with the zombies now, are we?” Rantarou leaned closer to the window to get a better look at the undead loitering just outside their school gates. “Well...can’t really blame you there. Just looking at them walking around aimlessly...having no clue that they were all just victims of the ugly side of humanity...it’s downright depressing.”

“It’s boredom,” the supreme leader sighed. “They’re all just victims of boredom.”

“Hm?” Rantarou tilted his head, “Care to elaborate?”

“Obviously no one wants to be bored. A boring life is not worth living, you know,” Ouma paused to stretch and folded his arms behind his head before speaking. “Think about it. Why do people turn to crime? Sure there are cases of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but a good chunk of it is mostly because they wanted to do something exciting for once in their worthless lives before they go off and die.”

The taller teen leaned his back against the nearby wall and crossed his arms over his chest with a hum. “I suppose that’s true. This line of thought also applies to policemen who shoot people at the slightest provocation without a second thought, no?”

“Yup! You got it,” Ouma grinned. “That’s why I think the saying ‘money is the root of all evil’ is bullshit. The true root of all evil is boredom. Money only becomes evil once the person gets bored of keeping it and spend it on more exciting things like guns and explosives.”

“To be honest, I only approached you because you looked lonely without our dear little Kiibo by your side,” Rantarou chuckled. “Little did I know, we’d actually end up engaging in a deep conversation. I’m pleasantly surprised.”

“Hey! Don’t make it sound like I need a robo-nanny 24/7! Geez! So Kiibo had to leave for maintenance just to have a kinky bitch take care of him for a few hours, big deal! I can handle being alone. I’m a strong and independent supreme leader who need no robot, man, _or_ woman,” the shorter male whined, a stark contrast to his bored look earlier. “Anyways, since you're here, can I ask you a question?”

“You sure are,” Rantarou chuckled, knowing full well that the supreme leader was actually jealous of how well Kiibo got along with their resident inventor. He smiled and gave the supreme leader a nonchalant wave. “Well, considering we both have the time right now. Shoot.”

“Awesome! Here goes,” Ouma’s face went serious before he continued. “...How does it feel being unable to escape your predetermined end despite being the Ultimate Survivor?”

The taller male blinked a couple of times before heaving out a sigh. “That was a low blow to the ego, Ouma. Ouch.”

“Eh, you’re a big boy, you can handle a little boo-boo or two,” Ouma shrugged. “Weeeeell? Cough it up Amami! Lemme see what’s going on inside your pretty little avocado head!”

“Easy there boy, I’ll answer in a bit.” Rantarou raised both of his hands in a placating manner. “I didn’t expect you to give me such a difficult question right off the bat.”

The dark haired teen sulked, “Fiiiine. But be quick!”

He rubbed the back of his neck with a frown, deep in thought. “Well, to put it in simpler terms, it sucks. I can’t exactly survive from something like an incurable disease. And unfortunately, being the Ultimate Survivor doesn’t mean I have the skill to foresee that incident and subsequently prevent it from happening.”

“Mmmm….that sounds about right,” Ouma replied. “None of us had the power to foresee that. Not even the headmaster. To think that his bad luck saved him from being infected just because his flight back to Japan got delayed.”

“Hey now, I’m sure Headmaster Makoto is doing his best to save us from the outside,” Rantarou ruffled Ouma’s hair.

“Suuuure he is,” Ouma rolled his eyes as he removed the taller teen’s hand off his hair. “I think it would have been better if the headmaster got infected with us. He would know what to say at a time like this. He could give us one of his trademark hope speeches and all that.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, but I do agree about his speeches,” Rantarou turned his attention back to the window. “It would have gotten rid of this grim atmosphere right about now.”

“Umm...excuse me.”

Both teens turned to look at the newcomer.

“Is there something you need, Saihara?” Rantarou asked, resting a hand on his waist.

Shuuichi pulled the bill of his hat lower, “The headmaster wanted us to gather in the Gym, he has news for us and he wants all of us to be there. He’s talking through Kiibo right now, it would be easier to understand if you saw for yourself.”

Rantarou shared a look with Ouma before nodding. “Alright, we’ll be right there. Ouma and I are almost done with our conversation anyway. You go on ahead, Saihara.”

The Ultimate Detective eyed the two of them before nodding. “No, I still have to call the other guys, so I’ll be taking a while too. See you at the gym.” He bowed before taking his leave, heading towards the men’s dormitory.

“See ya later Saihara-chan~” Ouma waved before turning to look at his companion, chewing on his thumbnail. “...We were just talking about him. Is the headmaster actually the Ultimate Esper and was just lying about his talent all this time? That was honestly creepy.”

“More importantly, we should be heading to the gym right now. Something must have come up considering it’s been a long time since the headmaster last contacted us,” Rantarou’s brows knit together. “What do you think it’s going to be about? Any guesses?”

“Nope! Why bother guessing when we can go get our answers straight from the horse’s mouth?” the supreme leader grabbed the other by the wrist and started dragging him along. “The faster we get there, the faster we’ll get our answers.”


	4. You're The Only One Who Can Do This, Kiibo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you. And I'm sorry._

“To think that the headmaster was the target of the terrorists...” Shuuichi murmured. “It’s a good thing that he wasn’t around during the attack, then.”

Kaede walked around her grand piano, stroking the surface gently. “...I didn’t think we’d get to see the headmaster cry. It’s not his fault that this happened to us, yet he still blames himself for what happened...”

“It...can’t be helped that there are still people who want him dead just for being the Ultimate Hope,” Shuuichi pursed his lips. “The headmaster has been carrying a heavy burden this whole time, especially with a talent like his.”

The pianist pressed a few keys as she replied, “We’ll be okay. We’ll definitely be okay. The headmaster _did_ say that they had the Ultimate Nurse on their side. They’ll be able to create a cure for us, I’m sure!”

The detective smiled at his companion and took a free seat. “You’re right. The people outside have not given up on us, so we shouldn’t give up on hope.”

“Hope,” Kaede echoed as she began playing a happy and soothing tune. “As we long as we believe in it, we will be okay.”

Shuuichi had been spending more than enough time with the pianist to know what things she likes, loves, and absolutely dislikes. Her favorites, her habits, her motivations, dreams, and hope. The same could be said about him vice-versa. Kaede knows the right words to say to get him back on his feet, knows when he prefers to be alone, or when he is simply comfortable with silence but do not in fact mind the company. They are both open books to each other. The real question is...how open are they exactly with each other?

As soon as the music stopped, Kaede turned to look at the dark haired detective, a sad smile on her face. “Shuuichi-kun, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

“...What is it, Akamatsu-san?”

It was then that Shuichi believed that what he was looking at now is not a book that’s only slightly open, but a book that was opened to its final chapter.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to play the piano anymore.”

 

\---------------------------------------------------

 

Ouma was not amused when his lover dragged him out of his room so early in the morning. He got twice as annoyed when he noticed the grand piano upon entering the gym. Seeing other people’s annoyed faces eased his anger, knowing that he wasn’t the only one inconvenienced made the situation more tolerable.

“Mind telling me why I have to be here?” he asked his companion.

“Saihara-kun informed me that Akamatsu-san wanted to put on a performance,” Kiibo’s forehead creased with worry. “I can’t help but be concerned when he told me that she had something important to say afterwards.”

“Can’t she just announce it like a normal person without putting on such a grand performance?” Ouma huffed, to which Kiibo only responded by tightening his grip on the supreme leader’s hand.

“Let’s hear them out first, alright?” the robot placed a kiss on the shorter teen’s crown. Ouma glared up at his lover before conceding his defeat.

“Just this once,” huffed Ouma.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait that long for Kaede to take her place by the grand piano with Shuuichi standing not too far from her.

“I’m sorry for the short notice, everyone,” Kaede started with one of her signature smiles. “Shuuichi-kun and I came up with this yesterday. We thought a little soothing music would help ease the atmosphere here. I hope you'll enjoy my performance.”

Ouma was about to complain about how unnecessary this all is, but stopped himself upon catching the unusual darkness in the detective’s eyes. He unconsciously tightened his hold on Kiibo’s hand, earning a concerned look from the robot. Despite the unpleasant feeling settling in his gut, he stayed quiet and tuned out everything else the pianist had to say, after all, everything that she’s been spouting from then on were nothing but lies.

 

♪-♪-♪-♪-♪♪-♪♪-♪-♪♪-♪♪-♪-♪-♪-♪

 

As soon as her performance was over, the gym was filled with the sound of applause. It was truly a performance that made her worthy of the title of Ultimate Pianist.

“Now, for the announcement…” Kaede slowly rose from her seat and stood in front of her audience. “Everyone, my performance earlier would be my last one.”

Ouma stared at Shuuichi’s back as she spoke.

“The truth is...when the ‘incident’ happened,” Kaede paused to take a deep breath. Ouma frowned when he saw how the detective clenched his fists. “...when the blimp released the gas...it was when it was stationed near my home. I was on my way to school when it happened and...needless to say, I’ve been directly exposed to the gas since day 1 but I thought it was just some weird smoke at the time. I didn’t think it would lead to _this._ ”

Students began murmuring to each other, some gasped at the news.

“I’ve been losing strength in my hands day-by-day. I was frightened at the idea that one day my fingers would just fall off, you know?” despite how horrible her words were, she maintained her smile. “But I--I wanted to do something for everyone. That’s what gave me the strength to give this performance my all. Because...I think my hands have already reached their limit. I don’t want to tire my fingers out and speed up their rotting.”

Ouma was furious. “Fucking liar.”

“Kokichi?” Kiibo sent the shorter male a concerned look.

“She’s been spouting lies this whole time. That lying bitch,” Ouma uttered as he bit his nail out of agitation. “She’s putting up this farce of, ‘waah I can’t play the piano anymore cause my fingers might fall off!’ when in truth what she meant to say is “I’m dying”. Everything about her right now screams of “I’m dying,” Kiibo.”

Kiibo looked back at the smiling blonde on stage, and confirmed that she wasn’t being truthful to everyone. The smile currently plastered on her face was a hollow one, not like her usually pleasant ones.

“...Akamatsu-san,” Kiibo called, startling the pianist as well as his boyfriend. “Are you perhaps...hiding something else from us?”

“Kiibo? What do you mean?” Kaede asked.

“I...have a feeling that you haven’t been entirely honest with us,” Kiibo replied, his hold on Ouma’s hand tightening.

“Kiibo, Kaede’s told us nothing but the truth,” Shuuichi spoke up before turning to face the robot.

“Oh so you’re in on it too, Saihara-chan?” Ouma chimed in. “I’m actually disappointed in you, the Ultimate Detective of all people, to assist someone in lying to everyone.”

“Ouma-kun, Akamatsu-san didn’t lie about her hands. She let me confirm it for myself. Her hands are no longer in the proper condition to play the piano _or_ do anything strenuous with her hands,” replied the detective. “There is absolutely no benefit for her to lie about the condition of her hands in our current situation anyway.”

The crowd buzzed with agreement.

“Her hands? Ohohoho. I don’t mean her hands, Saihara-chan,” the atmosphere around Ouma screamed of the dominance expected from a leader. “Did you know? There’s a thing called lying by omission. You’re dying aren’t you, Akamatsu-chan?”

Kaede froze in her place, eyes wide. Shuuichi mirrored the same expression on her face.

“...Akamatsu-san...” Kiibo called. “Please, share your pain with us. All of us are friends, are we not?”

“I hate liars you know. I know you do too, so stop lying to yourself, Akamatsu-chan,” Ouma added.

Kaede fell to her knees and started sobbing, which pushed Shuuichi to run to the stage and comfort the pianist.

“I’m so sorry...” she sobbed. “I didn’t want--I didn’t want everyone to see me like this. I didn’t want you to remember me like this once I--”

Shuuichi engulfed her in a hug, too focused on the pianist to take note of the watchful eyes of the audience. “...Akamatsu-san. Ouma is right this time...you shouldn’t keep this to yourself.”

Kaede started bawling her eyes out, which made the crowd move to comfort her as well. There hadn’t been any other incidents lately ever since Maki executed Gonta once he started becoming a zombie. The possibility that they’d be losing another student before help arrived didn’t occur to them at all until now. After the entire ordeal, Kaede took her time to thank the Supreme Leader, who simply waved her away, saying that she had better things to do than spending time with a liar. She exchanged a few hushed words with Kiibo before taking her leave with the detective.

Kiibo took note of his boyfriend’s silence and patted his head affectionately. “You did good, Kokichi.”

“I know. But that doesn’t mean I’m happy with it,” Ouma replied, expressionless. “...It’s unfair.”

Kiibo thought back to his conversation with the pianist and closed his eyes. “It really is.”

 

\---------------------------------------------------

Two Weeks Later...

\---------------------------------------------------

 

When Kiibo returned to the academy after his patrol, he had been drenched by the heavy downpour. He made sure he was thoroughly dry before knocking on the Ultimate Inventor’s lab.

“Who’s there? What the fuck do you want--” Miu grumbled as she opened the door, her expression changed when she saw that it was Kiibo who knocked on her door. “Kiibo? Back for maintenance already?”

“...Iruma-san...” the robot murmured. “May I ask you for a favor?”

Iruma narrowed her eyes, “Depends. What kind of favor is it? A normal one or a sexual one?”

Kiibo tightened his hold on the music note-shaped barrettes in his hand. “...Please help me forget.”

Taking note of the pained look in the robot’s eyes, Iruma wordlessly opened her door. “Come in.”

“...Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”


	5. If We Had Been More Friendly To You...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Could we have saved you from grief?_

The dull thud the luminary of the stars made when he hit the ground snapped everyone out of their trance.

“Oops,” Ouma said. “My hand slipped. You should watch what you’re saying from now on, Momota-chan.  We don’t want accidents like this to happen again, riiight?”

“Kokichi, what are you--” Kiibo was startled when the darker haired teen raised a hand to silence him.

“Keep it in mind, Momota-chan. The only one who can tease Kiiboy is me. I don’t appreciate having other people do the same,” Ouma glared, blatantly ignoring the assassin’s murderous ones.

“You bastard…!” Kaito returned the glare with the same intensity. “How are you fine with this?! You know, don’t you? You know what Kiibo did to Kae--”

“Kaito!” Shuuichi shouted. “...Just let it go. No one’s at fault.”

Kaito looked up at the detective in shock, “Shuuichi...why? Aren’t you the one affected by this the most?”

The detective tightened his grip on the music note shaped-barrettes inside his pocket--a silent prayer for strength. “It was Kaede’s wish. It’s not Kiibo’s fault.”

Kiibo looked at the others in confusion. “What...what are you all talking about?”

“Don’t sweat the details, Kiiboy. Momota-chan’s just being a cranky bastard,” Ouma scoffed as he started pulling Kiibo away from the crowd. “This is boring, let’s go back to our room.”

“Kokichi! Wait--”

“Nope! You’ve been neglecting me for the past week Kiiboy, and I’m not having any of that _this_ week as well!” Ouma’s cackles echoed in the hallway as he tugged his boyfriend towards the dorm’s direction.

Rantarou went ahead and offered the astronaut a hand. “So...mind telling me what was that just now? Something tells me that you two have some explaining to do.”

Kaito accepted the survivor’s help with a grunt. “There’s going to be some explaining, alright. Why did you stop me just now, Shuuichi?”

“Because Kiibo did nothing wrong, Kaito-kun,” Saihara replied. “...I’m sorry Amami-kun, we’re probably just confusing you even more. It’s better if you just follow us...”

“Then follow I will,” Rantarou shrugged.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------

 

“Alright I get it already!” Miu yelled as she slammed her door open. “...What? You two again? And this time you brought Mr. Pretty Boy over too? I knew you’d be coming back for more.”

“Iruma-san, we’d like to watch Kiibo’s memories once more,” Shuuichi explained before the inventor could go on another vulgar tirade. “...If you don’t mind.”

“Of course I fucking mind! I just let you in once and you thought I’d just let you come inside over and over again?” Miu yelled. “All these knocking is disturbing my genius from happening!”

“Hey, enough with your bullshit, alright? This is important!” Kaito slammed his fist on the door, startling the inventor.

“Y-you don’t have to be so rough! I-I’d let you come one more time, but I really am b-busy right now!” she whimpered. “I-I was going to give you the footage a-anyway!”

“Oh? That would be convenient for both of us, then. May I have it?” Rantarou stepped forward and offered the inventor his open palm.

She hurriedly rummaged through her skirt pockets and handed the portable drive to him. “Just...make sure you return it after you’re done, o-okay? I promised Kiibo.”

“We will. Thank you for letting us take up your time,” Shuuichi bowed.

“You owe me, Shithara! My time is precious!” Miu unfortunately reverted back to her vulgar personality.

“We can watch it in my lab. It has more privacy compared to the other ones,” Rantarou said as he handed the portable drive to the detective. “...that is if you two don’t mind.”

“No, your lab should be fine,” Shuuichi replied. “This is something that Kiibo shouldn’t see at all. It’s one of the conditions Iruma-san gave us the first time we watched this in her lab.”

“I see.” Rantarou nodded. As soon as they entered the lab, the survivor made sure the door was locked before setting up his laptop so they could watch the footage more comfortably. Shuuichi handed him the portable drive that contained the ultimate robot’s memories, his jaw tense as he went back to his seat. Although he had already seen it once, he couldn’t help but watch it again.

The footage began at the time where Kiibo was still waking the supreme leader from his slumber so they could watch Kaede’s final performance. Despite knowing what transpired in the gym, it felt like what they were watching was far different from what they experienced at the time now that they were watching it through Kiibo’s eyes. Even the Ouma from his perspective seemed like a different person from the Ouma they see on a day-to-day basis. The first time Shuuichi watched this, it felt like he was intruding in something he wasn’t supposed to. But the inventor informed him that Kiibo specifically requested her to have the detective watch the footage along with keeping Kaede’s barrettes. So that he could see the pianist in her final moments.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------

 

 _“Meet me in the library at 3 am.”_ _Kaede smiled. “I need to ask you for a favor.”_

_Kiibo took a step back, taking in the pianist’s face before giving a slight nod. “Alright. I’ll see you there.”_

Rantarou watched his companions’ reactions from the corner of his eye. Shuuichi was engrossed in the footage, while Kaito was looking elsewhere with a frown. But even so, he was positive that the luminary of the stars was paying attention to what was happening on screen. Out of respect for Ouma and Kiibo’s privacy, Rantarou took the liberty to skip that portion of the memory.

_“Thank you for coming, Kiibo. For a second, I thought you wouldn’t arrive,” Kaede laughed softly._

_“There is no way I would do such a cruel thing to you, Akamatsu-san,” Kiibo replied. “...What is this favor you wished to ask of me?”_

_Kaede played with a strand of her hair as she looked at the floorboards. “...When I die...can I ask you to execute me before I become a zombie?”_

_“E-execute?!”_

Rantarou’s eyes widened. _‘So Kaede running away from the academy was a lie...’_

_“Akamatsu-san, there’s no way I can--”_

_Kaede hurriedly went down on her knees and bowed with her forehead touching the floor. “Please Kiibo, I beg of you! You’re the only one who can do this!”_

_Kiibo also went down on his knees, urging her to stop bowing. “You don’t have to go so far as to bowing down to me, Akamatsu-chan. All I want to know is..._ _why?_ _Why do you want me to do such a thing?”_

_Kaede looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I have a feeling that if I die, I won’t be really ‘dead.’ I’m scared that even after dying, I’d still be capable of moving. That’s how zombies worked in the movies, maybe that’s how it works here too. I don’t...I don’t want to risk hurting anyone while in that state.”_

_She paused to wipe away her tears. “I’d prefer to be executed outside of the academy, but if I asked someone else to do it, they’d be exposed to more of the toxic gas. You’re the only one I can turn to right now. Please Kiibo...”_

_Instead of replying, Kiibo opted to help her stand up and proceeded to give her a hug. “If this would give you peace, then I will do it for you, Akamatsu-san. I...do not want to do it, but this is the most logical course of action, and I respect your decision.”_

_Kaede returned the hug. “Thank you.”_

“...We can skip these parts, it’s not something we should be privy to,” Shuuichi said as he moved to skip the next few days in Kiibo’s memory and played it on the day before Kaede went missing.

_Kiibo hesitantly opened Kaede’s room and paused beside the bedridden pianist. “Akamatsu-san.”_

_“Kii-bo...” despite her death-like complexion, she still somehow managed to smile. “Your timing is terrific. I...honestly don’t think I can last a few more days...”_

_Kiibo nodded. “Would you like me to do you a favor?”_

_Kaede paused to look at him with a weak smile. “Yes.”_

_Kiibo assisted her to his lab. He gently laid her on a spare mattress he had prepared beforehand before going off to equip his necessary parts._

_“You...didn’t like sci-fi stuff, didn’t you?”_

_Kiibo shifted to look at her as he installed a wing-like contraption on his back. “No, I don’t. However, I think this is a necessary preparation if I want to keep you safe until then.”_

_“You’re so thoughtful,” Kaede said._

_Kiibo carefully lifted her frail body from the mattress, “I am all set. Where do you want to go?”_

_“My home. I want to go home...Kiibo,” she replied._

_“Alright.”_

Rantarou noticed that Shuuichi has had his right hand in his pocket the whole time. And at some points in the memory, he would clench the fist inside his pocket. He went back to watching Kiibo gracefully soar through the air with Kaede in his arms. His brow knotted together when he noticed the walking dead just roaming around aimlessly beneath them.

_Kiibo landed on Kaede’s balcony with a thud. “Do you want me to go collect your family photos before I...”_

_Kaede didn’t let him finish his sentence. “Yes, please.”_

_They went through a couple of happy photos before Kaede decided it was time to go. Now that she was outside of the academy, what remained of her health was dwindling at a fast rate._

_“I think I’m ready now. Let’s go back outside, I want to see the sunrise one more time.”_

_“Okay.”_

_Kiibo assisted Kaede in standing and had her support herself by holding on to the balcony railings._

_“Kiibo.”_

_Kiibo raised his right arm, his left hand keeping it steady. “What is it, Akamatsu-san?”_

_“Thank you.”_

A high pitched sound echoed in the room as Kiibo shot a small beam of concentrated light through the back of Kaede’s skull. He hastily moved to catch her before she fell over the balcony.

_Kiibo let out pained gasps as moisture started blurring his sight. “I’m sorry...I’m sorry… I’m sorry!”_

Rantarou looked away, fighting back tears. While Shuuichi’s eyes were still on the screen as tears streamed down his cheeks.

_Kiibo carried her corpse to the bathroom and cleaned her face. He removed her barrettes and carefully stored it in his front pocket before laying her down in her bed and left without a word._

“So that’s what happened,” everyone hurriedly turned around, only to find Ouma comfortably seated with his legs crossed in one of the many chairs Rantarou had in his lab.

“What the--?! How did you--?!” Kaito paused when Ouma showed him the lockpicks he had on hand.

“Don’t mind me, I come in peace,” the supreme leader said. “Now, how about we continue watching?”

“Ouma...” Rantarou murmured.

“You can skip the next parts too,” Ouma said. “I can tell you what happened while we're at it.”

“Ouma-kun, you don’t have to--” Shuuichi stopped when the shorter teen sent him a blank stare.

“Kiibo wasn’t functioning well after Kaede disappeared,” Ouma started. “He told me what happened, I helped him come up with the lie about her disappearance. But he never gave me the details. Kiibo wouldn’t leave his room and refused to talk to anyone. And of course, I was the exception. He gave you Akamatsu-chan’s barrettes before he became a recluse, I think.”

Rantarou eyed the hand Shuuichi had in his pocket. ‘ _So that’s what was in his pocket._ ’

“Kiibo went into robo-depression, would you believe that?” Ouma snickered. “He was slowly falling into despair as each day passed. And I had a front-row seat to this.” He moved to point at the screen.

_“...Please help me forget.”_

“Kiibo realized that and went to Bitchtits McGee for help. He knew what was happening to him was bad,” Ouma continued.

“But to forget something like that...I understand that he had no choice but to do it,” Kaito gritted his teeth. “But to forget it altogether and live the next day as if nothing had happened? That’s no different from running away! He should have faced his problems like a true man!”

Ouma slammed his foot on the floor. “Are you saying that Kiibo should have stayed the way he was last week? Was it wrong to save himself from grief? Was it wrong to get some help after realizing that he was in depression? Would you rather he killed himself like an ordinary person would once they get overwhelmed by grief?”

“That’s not what I meant! He should have--” Kaito paused when Shuuichi rested his hand on the astronaut’s shoulder.

“Kaito,” the detective shook his head. “Kiibo couldn’t have talked it out with everyone. He couldn’t bring himself to face us because he felt guilty. He felt that everyone would despise him once they found out that he was the one who...helped Kaede pass peacefully.”

"That's why it's so frustrating! He could have-- _we_ could have--!" Kaito looked away with tears in his eyes. “Damn it! Damn it all!”

Ouma got up from his seat and started walking away, “Well, I’m bored again, so I’ll be taking my leave. Don’t forget to return the footage to Iruma-chan, alright Amami-chan? I don’t want that thing anywhere near my beloved Kiiboy.”

“...Will do, Ouma.” was all Rantarou said before the supreme leader exited the room. Once they finished watching Kiibo’s memory, Rantarou managed to help the detective convince Kaito to apologize to Kiibo the next time he sees the robot. Shuuichi volunteered to return the portable drive to the inventor in his stead while Kaito decided to go get some alone time in his room. Rantarou stayed behind in his lab, opting to process what he had just watched instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify some things. Since Kiibo had Iruma erase his memories of the last two weeks, including the events in the previous chapter, he doesn't remember the fact that he had actually made use of the equipment in his lab. He made sure to uninstall it before he went to Iruma.
> 
> Oh, the lie regarding Kaede's disappearance was, she ran away from the academy and Kiibo had chased after her. And the zombies got to her. But in truth, she's peacefully lying in her own bed in her own home.


	6. 'Until Death Do Us Part' Is A Silly Vow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I'm never letting you go even after I die, after all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just something short and light to break the continuous streak of pain and anguish.

_“So, why did you want to meet at the rooftop?” Ouma asked, heading towards the railings._

_“...The truth is Ouma...I...” Kiibo stammered. “There’s something I wanted to tell you.”_

_“What? Is this a confession? It’s a confession isn’t it?!” the supreme leader swiftly turned around, his trademark grin plastered on his face._

_Kiibo’s face were bright red at that point. “N-no! I mean--!”_

_Ouma frowned. “Aw, how disappointing. I honestly thought it was going to be a confession.”_

_“Wha--huh?! W-would you at least let me finish?” the robot stammered._

_The shorter male took a few elegant strides towards the albino before stopping a few spaces away from the latter. “Well? I’m waiting, Kiiboy. I’m all ears,” he crossed his arms, a mischievous smile was present on his lips._

_“W-well, uhm...O-Ouma-kun, the reason why I called you here is...is...” Kiibo’s ahoge drooped as he faltered. “I wanted to tell you that somehow, I...I have developed romantic f-feelings for you!”_

_Ouma didn’t look amused. “What? Can you say it in simpler terms?”_

_The robot’s ahoge contorted into a question mark. “Simpler terms? What do you mean?”_

_“I meaaaan, limit your sentence to three words without sacrificing your intended message,” Ouma pouted. “You took so long that I kind of zoned out.”_

_Kiibo blacked out as soon as he figured out what Ouma wanted him to say._

 

__-   ----    ---_ _

 

 

_“Hey, hey! Wake up!” Ouma’s orders were accompanied by his fist hitting the robot’s chest without much strength._

_Kiibo’s eyes opened with a jolt, “H-huh? Where?”_

_“We’re in the infirmary. You’re lucky that I was kind enough to lug your metal ass here,” the shorter haired male paused to stretch. “So, how about those three words, hm?”_

_Kiibo look down, his cheeks sporting a rosy red color. “To...to say something like that out of the blue...it’s not something I can do!”_

_“Haaaah? It’s easy! Just do as I do!” Ouma leaned forward and reached for Kiibo’s right ear piece._

_Kiibo’s eyes widened in shock at the proximity of their faces as Ouma’s voice rang through his head._

_“I love you, you stupid robot.”_

_“T-that’s six words!” Kiibo huffed. “And you used my recording device without my consent!”_

_“Whaaat? That’s the thing you noticed? Kiibo you just enjoy disappointing me, don’t you?” Ouma looked down, crocodile tears streaming down his cheeks. “Just when I told you how I feel...”_

_Kiibo was aware that the other teen was simply pulling one of his usual tricks, but he couldn’t help but feel that the words recorded within him were genuine. He closed his eyes, mustering the courage to speak out what was in his mind, and in his 'heart'._

_“...ve...you...”_

_Ouma’s head perked up at the robot’s words. “What was that? I couldn’t hear it over the sound of my feelings not being returned.”_

_“I...love you. I said, I love you...” Kiibo looked away shyly. “...Happy?”_

_Ouma grinned as he launched himself towards the albino. “Very! Now kiss me Kiiboy!”_

_“K-kiss?! But isn’t that going too--mmmphh??!”_

_The look on everyone’s faces when Ouma barged in their class the next day, openly announcing his change of status from single to taken, was priceless._

 

_-   ----  ---  ---_

 

Ouma woke up to the feeling of a hand gently caressing his cheek, he cracked an eye open, amused since he had caught his boyfriend red-handed. That must have been the source of his good dream. “Mmnnn?”

“Oh, sorry for waking you,” Kiibo apologized. “You looked so at peace that I couldn’t help myself...”

“You into somnophilia now Kiiboy?” Ouma snickered. “Not that I mind, I wanted to try that at some point. Too bad robots don’t sleep.”

“W-what are you talking about?” the robot pulled his hand away with a huff. “It’s just...it’s been a while since you had a proper rest. I was honestly relieved.”

The darker haired teen reached for his lover’s hand and intertwined it with his own. “I had a good dream, that’s probably the reason why.”

“A good dream? What was it about?” Kiibo tilted his head, his ahoge contorted into a question mark just like in his dream.

Without a warning, the supreme leader moved to close the distance between them with a grin. “Your wreck of a confession, of course!”

Kiibo’s face heated up. “Y-you’re dreaming of that _now_ of all times?”

“Why? Everything lately has been nothing but dark and gloomy. So what if I want a little ray of sunshine in my dreams? Don’t you think I deserve to be a little bit happy from time to time?” Ouma pouted.

Kiibo’s frown eased before he moved to rest his forehead against Ouma’s with a content sigh. “I do.”

Surprised at the robot’s sudden intimacy, the supreme leader stayed silent for a few minutes before he broke into a grin. “Practicing for our marriage already, Kiiboy?”

“M-marriage?” Kiibo hastily took a couple of steps back. “Just when I thought that you were being serious...”

“I _am_ serious. That’s why you have to be serious too,” Ouma said as got out of bed and walked towards the robot. He reached for his lover’s right ear piece and twisted it.

_“I love you, you stupid robot.”_

“So you still kept it after all,” Ouma smiled. A genuine smile this time, it was one devoid of mischief and lies. “So, what’s your response going to be?”

Kiibo looked away, trying and failing to stop himself from returning the smile. “I love you.”

“Nishishishi! I love you too, Kiibo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering why the line breaks are weird. Here's a clarification.
> 
> "- ---- ---" means I love you  
> "- ---- --- ---" means I love you too. Just substitute the lines with letters ^^


	7. I'll Believe In My Talent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Just like how you believed in me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rather short. Not my one of my best works, but it's still just as important!

Shuuichi tossed himself on his bed. The past few weeks had been nothing but mentally taxing. Now that Kaede is gone, he doesn't even know where to start. He felt that there must be something that he could do. Sitting around doing nothing but wait for each of them to turn into mindless decayed flesh isn't something the headmaster would want the students of hope to do. That's what Kaede would have said.

He turned to rest on his back, staring at the ceiling. “...Kaede.”

Even in the face of death, she thought of what was best for everyone. And Kiibo...he's completely clueless due to the memory wipe.  The detective didn't know what to make of the current situation. He didn't want to lose Kaede in such a manner, but he couldn't bring himself to blame Kiibo. Not after his reaction right after the death and the week after that. If he hadn't approached Iruma then they would have lost Kiibo too. They were fortunate that Ouma was there to charge him, since judging from the memories he had watched alone, Kiibo had even neglected himself to the point where he wouldn't even bother charging himself.

Shuuichi sighed. “At least Kaito finally got to apologize to Kiibo…”

He fished out a barrette from his pocket and held it above him. “...I can't keep going like this. There must be something even _I_  can do in this situation…”

Kiibo’s words from the special message exclusively addressed to the detective replayed in his mind.

_“...I am aware that my decision of having my memory wiped would yield a negative response, but this is something I must do if I want to survive with everyone. However, there is something I need to tell you, Saihara-kun. It is unfortunate that I’ve come to know of this after what I have done to Akamatsu-san, which is exactly why I decided to inform you of this before I’ll go through the memory clean up. During my investigation outside of the school premises, I’ve reached the end of this city and communicated with the people from the outside._

_Saihara-kun, it appears that no one had known about the headmaster’s overseas travel except for the faculty and students of Hope’s Peak. And the fact that the gas was released on the exact day of the headmaster’s scheduled return, I’ve concluded that there is no way that it’s simply a coincidence. There is a mole among us. We can rule out the faculty considering they are former members of the Future Foundation who had been working with the headmaster for more than a decade. ...It’s regrettable that they too had succumbed to the epidemic just to protect us. Saihara-kun, in my stead, please discover who the mole is without being caught. If the mole gets rescued along with us, this tragedy will simply repeat itself. And if there is a chance that you don’t resent me for this...you may ask help from me. I am your friend no matter what. But I do not blame you if you don’t think of me the same way after this._

_...Well then, this is goodbye Saihara-kun, and I’m sorry.”_ Kiibo’s smile was pained but there were traces of relief in his eyes before the footage had cut off.

Shuuichi closed his eyes, bringing the barrette close to his chest and tightened his grip on it. _‘A mole. Could I really find the mole on my own?’_

_“I believe you can do it, Shuichi! So please, believe in your talent!”_

Shuuichi sat up with a jolt, eyes wide. “K-Kaede?”

Silence.

He shook his head and opened his hand. “No...There’s no way you could be here right now. But even so...thank you, Kaede. For everything...”

I’m doing this. For Kaede. For Kiibo. For everyone.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Will you help me, Kiibo? You’re the only one who can gather information from the outside...” Shuuichi bowed. He had simply repeated what Kiibo had relayed to him in the video, he made sure not to mention that the one who had come to such conclusion was the robot himself, however.

Kiibo pursed his lips. “A mole does sound problematic...very well. I’ll do my best to assist you, Saihara-kun,” he smiled.

Shuuichi returned the smile and bowed once more. “Thank you! There’s no need for you to do some investigation yet since I still haven’t figured out where to start. But I’ll tell you if something comes up my way as soon as possible.”

“Understood.” Kiibo nodded. “Oh, speaking of which Saihara-kun, I’ve noticed that you’ve stopped using your cap recently.”

The detective’s eyes widened in surprise. “O-oh, right. Does it look weird?”

The albino shook his head, “No! No it doesn’t. In fact, it looks refreshing. I believe you look better like this.”

Shuuichi looked down, blushing in embarrassment. “T-thanks.”

“What’s this? Are you cheating on me now, Kiiboy? I didn’t know that you were capable of doing something human-like like cheating.”

Kiibo flinched and turned around. “K-Kokichi?! What are you doing here?”

“Upset that I caught you in the middle of your little tryst, eh?” the supreme leader frowned. “I thought you were better than this, Saihara-chan. To think that you’d be gunning after my roboyfriend while I was away.”

“It’s nothing like that!” Kiibo huffed. “Please excuse us, Saihara-kun. Ah, unless there’s more you wanted to talk about?”

Shuuichi shook his head. “No, I believe I’ve told you everything you needed to know as of now. I’ll be on my way now.”

Kiibo nodded, not minding the fact that his boyfriend had already attached himself on his right arm with an unimpressed expression on his face.

“God damn it, not only do I have to keep an eye out for Iruma-chan, looks like I have to keep an eye out for Saihara-chan too,” Ouma pouted.

“You don’t have to do something like keep an eye out for anyone, Kokichi,” Kiibo sighed. “Iruma-san just handles my maintenance, and she’s also my friend and nothing more.”

“Lies! I know what goes on in her Lab whenever you go for your maintenance.”

“Kokichi...”

The detective hastened his strides towards the library doors, he shouldn’t be hearing whatever it is they’re talking about. Especially if it’s a lover’s spat. When he turned around to close the door gently, he caught a glimpse of his friends sharing a kiss under the dim lighting of the library. Shuuichi furiously shook his head to snap him out of his daze before heading for his room. He had definitely witnessed something he shouldn’t have. It was far too special and private for the two, he’ll have to pretend that he didn’t see anything at all. For everyone's sake.


	8. It's You and Me Against the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _But it's not wrong to look for allies, right?_

“...You still want to hide it from everyone?”

Ouma hummed, hands framing his face. “Stupid. If we tell them about it, it might lead to something bad. Those people are Ultimates who still have so much to live for, you know? If they find out about this little fact, we'll be ostracized. Or worse, killed.”

“...Does Kiibo know?”

Ouma’s eyes widened before he let out a dry laugh. “Me? Tell Kiiboy? Of course not. There's no way I'm telling him, he worries too much even though he’s just a robot.”

“...You are awfully stubborn about this, Ouma.”

“I can say the same thing about you too, Harukawa-chan,” Ouma leaned his back against the Assassin’s lab door. “I'm getting tired of you asking me the same question every time we hang out like this. My answer won’t change no matter how many times you ask. A no is a no.”

“They’re our friends. I don’t think we should be keeping secrets from them,” Maki looked down. Normally, the assassin would rather be anywhere than be in the same room as the supreme leader due to their clashing personalities, however, this was a clear exception. He was the only one who shared the same circumstances as her after all. “They wouldn’t--”

“Look, just because I said that  _ I’m _ not telling anyone doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to. It’s your choice,” Ouma shrugged. “If you want to spill the beans then go! Not my business whatsoever. Besides, you’re the Ultimate Assassin, even if they wanted to kill you, they couldn’t. You’ll have a better chance of surviving than I would if we were to tell everyone.”

Maki fiddled with a ponytail, puffing her cheeks. “I...wasn’t planning on telling everyone anyway.”

“Just Momota-chan, then?” Ouma asked as he stretched until his joints let out a satisfying pop, fully aware that he was being glared at. “You’re awfully clingy.”

“Do you want to die, Ouma?” she glared.

“Of course not!” the supreme leader huffed. “Yeesh. Why can’t you get embarrassed like a normal person? If we haven’t been classmates for 3 years I’d actually think that you were going to kill me.”

Maki looked away with a pout. “...Sorry.”

Ouma gave her a dismissive wave, “As long as you don’t actually kill me, we’re good. Anyways, why are you so persistent on telling someone else?”

“They’ll eventually start questioning why we never looked any different no matter how many days pass,” she replied. “I believe there would be less trouble if we told them about our condition early on.”

The supreme leader hummed, a finger idly tapping on his chin as he thought. “Ever wondered how we got into this situation in the first place?”

Maki quirked a brow. “What do you mean, exactly?”

“What I mean is...have you ever wondered how the terrorists knew when the headmaster was going to arrive?” Ouma sagged his back against the door until he was seated on the floor. “I mean, if his flight was made public, the whole world would be making a fuss about it. Considering the fact that it was silent, I can only assume that only the students and the faculty of Hope’s Peak knew about the headmaster’s flight schedule.”

“It was to protect the headmaster, after all,” the assassin nodded. “...Are you saying someone leaked the information?”

“I don’t have the evidence to back that up yet, but it’s possible,” Ouma shrugged. “Now, assuming that there  _ is _ a traitor among us...if we were to tell everyone about our little situation, I’m sure something bad would happen. They’ll probably try to get the others to go against us and you know, probably leave us for dead outside the safety of the school building.”

Maki frowned, “I don’t think they’ll do something like that to their friends.”

“Ahh, but they’re humans before they’re your friends, you know?” Ouma wagged a finger. “I’m pretty sure you know just how emotional humans get when they practically have death breathing down their necks. Especially when not all of the survivors are from our class. There are more strangers with us rather than our own friends--surely they won’t have any second thoughts abandoning two people they hardly know and cared about if ever the traitor manages to persuade them.”

The assassin moved to sit beside the shorter teen and hugged her knees. “...It's frustrating how you're right most of the time.”

“Correction. I'm right  _ all  _ the time--ow!” Ouma whined as he rubbed his side where the assassin jabbed him with her hand.

“Don't push it, Ouma,” Maki huffed.

“Okay fine,  _ most _ of the time. If that keeps you happy,” the supreme leader huffed. “It’s not like I wanted to lie about this either, but I just prefer lying over dying any day.”

“I get it already, you don’t have to explain more,” Maki sighed, eyes fixated on the wall across them.

Taking note of the sadness in the assassin’s eyes as well as the disappointment in the tone of her voice, Ouma tapped her on the shoulder.

“Hey.”

“What is it?”

“You can still tell Momota-chan, you know,” Ouma shrugged. “While I did say that it’s dangerous to divulge this information to just anyone, I think it’s okay if you tell Momota-chan. He’s too much of an idiot to even _be_  the mole. There’s no way he can pull off something so complex like fucking up an entire city!”

Maki blinked once, twice, before letting out a soft laugh, which surprised the supreme leader. “You’re right. Momota is an idiot...but a trustworthy idiot.”

Ouma smiled triumphantly upon succeeding in cheering up his classmate. “Right. I’d like to apologize about punching Momota-chan. Mostly because my hand hurt afterwards.”

The assassin hmph’ed, “Maybe you should have thought twice before punching him. You deserved that. Also, you shouldn’t be apologizing to me. Go apologize to him yourself.”

“Whaaat? No way! He started it first,” Ouma frowned. “He was dissing my Kiiboy, there’s no way I’m letting him get his way.”

“Didn’t Momota already apologize to Kiibo?” she quirked a brow.

“It’s not enough,” Ouma dropped his childish frowning and took on a more thoughtful look. “You don’t know how dangerous it was for Momota-chan to do that. If I had let Momota-chan continue with whatever the hell he was saying, Kiibo would have gotten curious about what he was saying. There’s no way I’d let that happen, especially while I’m around.”

“...What exactly happened to Kiibo?” Maki asked. “He did seem off. He’s been locked up in his room for 2 weeks, and suddenly he’s up and about as if nothing had happened.”

Ouma glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “...This information is confidential. But since we’re stuck in the same boat, I’ll tell you.”

Maki nodded. “Alright.”

“There’s no way we’ll talk about it here, so how about we have some tea break in your lab? Don’t worry about the tea, I have that covered.”

Slightly confused, Maki spent a few moments staring at the supreme leader’s smiling poker face before nodding. “Fine. But no spilling.”

“Me? Spill? Give me some more credit, Harukawa-chan. Gentlemen don’t spill their tea,” he grinned as he moved to stand up and dust his pants off before offering her a hand.

“You’re not much of a gentleman,” Maki smiled as she accepted his hand. “But I’ll let you off just this once.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Maki and Ouma being slightly OOC is bothering you, please consider that they've been classmates for 3 years, so I'm pretty sure they'll get along just fine. Not always! But they know when to set their differences aside for a moment. Now...I wonder what they could be talking about?


	9. Let's Go Watch Dead Gas Twinkle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"It's called Stargazing."_
> 
> _"Whatever you say, Kiiboy."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah...I actually had this chapter finished months ago but I only decided to upload it now. Sorry! But in any case, I hope you'll like this chapter. Once again, sorry for the wait.

Ouma’s nose scrunched up in mild irritation as he shifted his position on the bed. As soon as he felt a hand brush against his shoulder, moving closer and closer to where his neck was, his eyes snapped open as he hastily moved away from the malefactor as fast as he could.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” the supreme leader felt his muscles relax as soon as his brain recognized the glowing blue eyes of his lover. “I didn’t mean to scare you--I just wanted you to come with me for a little while,” Kiibo explained, raising his hands in a placating manner.

Instead of saying anything, Ouma decided to smack his boyfriend with his pillow.

“Hey!”

“Don’t you, ‘hey’ me stupid robot! You almost gave me a heart attack!” the shorter teen shouted as he smacked the albino a few more times.

“I already apologized!” Kiibo whined. “Stop hitting me already!”

Ouma sent the android a glare before relenting with a huff. “So? What did you wake me up for?”

The robot’s cheeks dusted red as soon as he asked. Twiddling with his fingers, he replied. “I was thinking if...if you wanted to go on a little date…?”

The supreme leader lifted a skeptical brow, “A date?  _ This _ late? How about you come back after a few hours and ask me again, bye.” He punctuated his sentence by pulling the covers over himself before turning his back to his boyfriend.

“It has to be now,” Kiibo sat on the edge of the bed, making it sink with his weight just a little. “...I wanted to stargaze with you.”

“Are you telling me you want us to waltz out of the safe confines of Hope’s Peak Academy just so we can watch exploding balls of gas that have already died billions of years ago,  _ twinkle?”  _ grumbled Ouma, back still turned on the android.

“We don’t have to leave the school to stargaze,” the albino paused to gather his thoughts. “...Momota-kun actually offered me to use his lab just for this very purpose.”

The manly and stubbornly righteous astronaut, Momota Kaito, actually offering Kiibo access to his lab just so he could go on a date with him--Ouma Kokichi? That sounds like a lie. Then again, he of all people should know how much of a terrible liar his boyfriend is. Interest piqued, Ouma turned to look over his shoulder. “...Momota-chan did?”

“He’s...actually waiting for us downstairs. He’ll be accompanying us only for a short time, just so he can teach us how to operate the lab. But other than that, it’s just going to be the two of us,” replied the albino.

“Just the two of us?” This time Ouma completely turned to face the albino. “You proooomise?”

Kiibo looked at him in confusion before nodding. “Yes. I promise.”

“Hmmmm...” Ouma motioned for his boyfriend to come closer and tapped his own lips with a finger. Kiibo huffed in amusement before leaning down to close the distance between them. The raven haired teen stealthily snaked his arms around his lover’s back to deepen the kiss, catching the latter off guard. Despite this, Kiibo reciprocated Ouma’s advances, only stopping when he felt the supreme leader tap the armor on his back with his fingers, a signal that he needed to breathe soon. They separated from each other shortly after, spending a few moments just staring into each other’s eyes while Ouma was catching his breath.

He then reached for the android’s face, tapping his nose lightly as he smiled. “Fine.”

“Fine...?” Kiibo parroted, still dazed from the kiss.

“Yes. Fine,” the raven haired teen sat up and stretched his limbs with a pop. “Now that I feel energized, I guess I can humor you a little and watch dead gas twinkle with you.”

“Stargazing, you mean.”

“Yeah, that,” Ouma made grabby motions towards the other, prompting Kiibo to chuckle as he helped his boyfriend out of bed, unaware of the fact that his ahoge had contorted into a heart--much to the supreme leader’s (secret) delight. The latter skipped towards his closet as soon as he was out of bed and grabbed his usual outdoor clothes.

When he asked Ouma why couldn’t he just leave in his pajamas since it would save them more time, he simply said something about not wanting Kaito to see him at his most vulnerable. Vulnerable in a sense that he looks more harmless when he’s in his pajamas. Kiibo patiently waited for the other to finish changing out of his nightwear by the door with a neatly folded blanket tucked under an arm. If the robot were to be honest with himself--he enjoys watching the supreme leader change clothes.

N-not because of some l-lewd reason or anything! Far from it, actually! It’s more of...the manner he changes out of them, and the way he puts them on. Every single action he makes while changing was not without grace. And he didn't make any unnecessary movement--all of them, precise. He guesses that it’s a weird thing to take note of his significant other, but he can’t help but think that Ouma is captivating no matter what he does.

“Kiibooooy, help me a bit? My hands are too numb that I can't tighten my scarf properly and it’s starting to annoy me,” Ouma called over his shoulder, giving the robot the best helpless expression he could muster.

Kiibo snapped out of his reverie and smiled, shaking his head a little due to how spoiled the other was acting. “Okay.”

The smile Ouma gave him afterwards made filled him with love and adoration.

“Let’s go.”

 

\----------------------------------------------------------

 

“What took ya so long?” grumbled the astronaut, tapping his foot impatiently.

Instead of feeling remorseful, Ouma flipped his hair with a flick of his wrist and scoffed. “I was busy gussying up for my date, got a problem with that? Unlike you, I don’t make it a habit to show up on a date looking like--” he made a show of giving the taller male a disgusted once-over before continuing. “--a  _ trainwreck. _ ”

Kaito looked like he was about to pounce on the supreme leader and give him a piece of his mind, but ultimately decided to just let out a frustrated sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. It would be bad if he punched Kiibo’s boyfriend in front of him after he went out of his way to help the android set up this little date as a way to make amends for how unnecessarily harsh he’s been treating the albino for the past week. 

“I’m sorry about this, Momota-kun, he’s only grumpy because I disturbed his sleep,” Kiibo sighed.

“Hmph!”

“It’s fine, I’m too tired to bite his bait,” Kaito rubbed the back of his head with a sigh as he turned his back to them and started walking. “Anyway, let’s get this over with so I can go to bed.”

Ouma spent a few moments glaring holes on the astronaut’s back as he followed him, but his features visibly softened when he felt Kiibo hold his hand. He flashed him a sincere smile and swinged their hands in response.

They stood next to each other as Kaito flitted around his lab, flicking switches and turning knobs.

“So, how does this work? Are you going to launch us into space so we could see the stars up close then the rocket crashes back to Earth and we die while you get to have a good night’s sleep?” Ouma yawned. “How sinister.”

Kaito paused to narrow his eyes at the supreme leader. “First of all, if my lab was capable of something like that, I would’ve launched myself into space way before the zombie fiasco happened--minus the dying of course. Astronaut training is not the only purpose of my lab. It’s also for--” he pulled a lever, which made what they first thought was an ordinary ceiling, slowly retract and reveal a glass dome. “--observing the stars!” The astronaut grinned as he puffed his chest with pride.

Kiibo noted the way Ouma’s eyes widened at the sight of the wide expanse of the night sky, he could see the stars reflected in the purple depths of his eyes. It was quite similar to his reaction when Kaito first demonstrated this to him the night before.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Kaito grinned. “Space is amazing!”

“Yeah…” Ouma left the robot’s side to stand directly under the dome to get a better view. “It’s beautiful...thanks for this, Momota-chan.” His sincere response caught the astronaut off guard, prompting the robot to chuckle before joining the shorter teen.

Kaito gave the supreme leader a pat on the shoulder and headed for the doorway, “I think it’s about time I go. Don’t forget to shut everything down alright?”

“Yes. Thank you for letting us use your lab, Momota-kun,” Kiibo bowed a little and smiled.

“Don’t mention it,” the astronaut smiled and left with a wave.

Once alone, they decided to huddle together under the moon’s soft glow. Despite the amount of teasing Ouma subjected the astronaut to due to the latter’s fixation on space, he was actually quite knowledgeable about astronomy as he easily pointed out constellations and named them with utmost confidence. Kiibo listened contentedly, just silently taking in the information his boyfriend is relaying to him--until he noticed the way the shorter teen shivered.

“Kokichi,” Kiibo unwrapped the blanket he had and opened his arms.

Ouma looked at him blankly before pouncing on the robot, to which the latter responded with wrapping the blanket around the supreme leader’s small form and activated his heating function.

“Mmmh...this feels so good,” Ouma murmured in appreciation, nuzzling the albino’s cheek and yawned.

“Do you want to return to the dorms?” Kiibo asked, combing the raven-haired teen’s hair with a hand, earning him another appreciative hum.

“Noooo...I don’t wanna get up...” whined the other. “Let’s stay here for the night.”

“But we have to shut the power off--”

“We don’t need his fancy lights, just shut everything off except for the ventilation and keep the dome open,” Ouma pouted.

Kiibo sighed, unable to argue against his boyfriend’s sound logic. “Alright. Give me a moment.”

The supreme leader got off the robot albeit reluctantly and just watched him flit around the lab just like what the astronaut was doing hours earlier. Ouma pursed his lips as he remembered Kaito’s words before he left the lab.

 

_ ‘Harumaki told me everything. If anything happens, you can talk to me.’ _

 

‘He’s too much of an idiot to keep things mum,’ He snorted, but smiled shortly after. ‘...But I guess a little reassurance isn’t so bad.’

Ouma latched on the android as soon as he returned and went back to their previous position. He closed his eyes and focused on the hand combing through his hair, feeling himself relax in the robot’s arms. Upon noticing that his companion had already fallen asleep, Kiibo pressed a kiss on the crown of his head.

“Sweet dreams, Kokichi.”

The next day, they woke up surrounded by their classmates. Apparently, they were looking for them everywhere, worried that something bad happened to them when they couldn’t find them in their rooms. Kiibo apologized, while Ouma on the other hand didn’t look the least bit remorseful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually hitting a writing slump at the moment. But I want to keep writing. Suggestions are highly appreciated ;_;)

**Author's Note:**

> There's going to be pain. Read at your own risk.


End file.
